Starting in karting and moving to Formula Monza and Formula Three, Lombardi advanced through racing until she reached Formula One. However, as were her wishes, the team remained active after her death and remains so today. F1 Unlocked, F1 2023: Star drivers, standout teams and surprise stories Our writers give their predictions ahead of the new F1 season, What the teams said Friday practice in Bahrain, F2: Pourchaire takes impressive pole in Sakhir. In 1976 Lombardi was confirmed at March alongside Brambilla and Stuck. Such was her tenacity that she basically taught herselfand also worked for her parents to save the money to pay for her first car, which she bought at the age of 24. The Daily Mail branded her the Tigress of Turin in the lead up to the race. If shed been a bit more glamorous perhaps more people would have noticed.. Lombardi was the first woman to qualify and compete in the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch and raced in sports cars. The Petersen Automotive Museum will offer a special premiere screening of the film "Beyond Driven: Lella Lombardi and the Women of Formula Racing, "preceded by a social hour and followed by a question-and-answer session with filmmakers and motorsports drivers. That she got as far as she did is a testament to her character. Here, Lombardi ran her best race of the year according to observers, finishing seventh, just missing out on acquiring a full point. Purtroppo, il 3 marzo del 1992, morta di cancro. Qualifying was more problematic, but by the end of the season she was only two tenths shy of Mallory Park pole-sitter Ashley; the gap had been 4.6 seconds back in March. Neither of her parents drove and Lella, as she became known, enjoyed her earliest experiences behind the wheel from driving the delivery truck for her father's salami factory. No trouble. That certainly got their attention. Her best result of the season would come at her last Grand Prix, 12th place in Austria. This was Lombardis breakthrough year. Wed been a disaster in terms of sponsorship since bursting into F1 in 1970, says Herd. Most of the scheduled practice was boycotted by a majority of drivers, who were adamant that the circuit barriers as erected on the round-the-houses circuit were badly assembled. In fact she had already come close to making her GP debut. [6]. You are currently using an outdated browser. Lella Lombardi will be remembered for her achievements in motorsport, her Formula 1 record and being one of only three openly LGBTQ+ F1 drivers. Lombardi bought her first car in 1965, competing in Formula Monza. Driving Line Accelerating Automotive Passion by providing a fresh angle of what fuels us. And they finished 11th at Le Mans, despite a long delay because of an electrical glitch that stranded Beckers without engine or headlights; her resourceful fix surprised the team. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. While apremature end to a life and career that had not reachedits full potential, Lella Lombardi nevertheless made her point; no one can take that away from her. She admitted privately, however, that it felt like riding a buffalo and, unsurprisingly, Guthrie, who had finished a fine 12th in that years Daytona 500, outqualified her by nine places. [9] Lombardi also successfully performed at other races, including the German Grand Prix at the Nrburgring, where she finished seventh. With Elfords help, Lombardi and Beckers had accepted an invitation to contest Daytonas Firecracker 400 on Independence Day, along with home star Janet Guthrie. Im just as competitive as any male in my mind. At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams. Look for the latest news stories and features, sent straight to your inbox! Into 1974 Epstein signed Lella Lombardi, she had come through Italian racing and European F3 and immediately impressed with her handling of HU18. In 1977, she competed in NASCAR at the Firecracker 400 that took place at Daytona. Robin Herd freely admitted in an interview we did in 2009 that he and Max Mosley had had her over in 1975, and said that he was most impressed with her performance finishing seventh at the Nurburgring in a race of attrition as she was battling with a puncture. Beuttler was an excellent amateur driver and dabbled semi-professionally in F1, competing in a number of races over the years. [2] In 1975, Lombardi was invited to join Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck on the March engineering team, racing the full season with Zanon's Lavazza Coffee Companys sponsorship. ITA Not only was she a novice in Formula One, but her car also suffered a broken gearbox in the vital Final Qualifying Session. She was very professional and we enjoyed working with her. READ MORE: 'Finding a new challenge is my motivation' Jamie Chadwick on whats next after clinching her second W Series title. . Lombardi returned to F1 in 1976 for the British Grand Prix but failed to qualify the aging RAM Racing Brabham BT44 she was piloting. Lombardi enjoyed a successful association with Osella. She and Fiorenza were a beautiful couple, reserved; the spotlight was never on them. Montjuich 1975: Lella Lombardi hustles her March to sixth place and the only GP point for a woman albeit halved by the shortened race. We knew what shed done beforehand and clearly she was very capable.. Lombardi enjoyed a successful association with Osella. Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. Painful. She qualified. Its perfect. Proudly created with. This was despite the fact that she maintained a great relationship with team owner Robin Herd, who spoke only praise of Lombardi: She wasnt a publicity seeker. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. She was a loner, really. Maria Grazia Lombardi "Lella" Lombardi was a talented and brave driver, racing in Formula One from1974 to 1976. But even today we associate motorsports with something overly fraternal. Philanthropic enthusiast Count Zanon agreed and offered March 50,000 to run Lombardi in F1 in 1975. While failing to qualify, Pete Lyons, arguably the leading F1 journalist of that era, nevertheless described Lombardi'sintroduction to the world of Formula One like this: "Lella Lombardi drove her BT42 the same chassis with which Pace failed to qualify in France in a brisk enough, and clean enough, manner to impress people favourably.". But I dont think he ever did a flying lap in that car. The F1 cars of that time were no easy feat to manage worlds away from the control of today. Still, shes always going to be known in history as one of the few women to take part in Formula Oneone of five women to enter a race, one of two women to start a race, and the only one who has ever scored points. Her next-best finish was a seventh place at the German Grand Prix. In the 1970s, ROC was more of an all star race than the challenge runs in different cars that it is today. Despite these early successes, Lombardis career was marred with obstacles. Lella was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. She impressed him not only with her driving but also by her mechanical knowledge and feel. One place and one lap behind him was Lombardi: the first and to date only woman to score a point in a world championship GP, but in a half-points race. Lombardi thus joined the ShellSPORT Luxembourg squad for the 74 Rothmans F5000 Championship and her Lola T330 wore 208 as a nod to the famous radio stations frequency. Quite what Lombardi made of all of this confusion and acrimony is anyone's guess, but it took a great deal of intestinal fortitude and determination to climb aboard and race to a sixth place and half a point and a place in history. She moved up through the ranks of local racing and built her reputation as the Tigress of Turinwhen she finished second in the 1968 Italian Formula Three championship. Lomardi had a successful junior career in the lead up to her time in F1. She wasnt rich and, with no sponsors to begin with, she slept in her truck to save money. Michele Mouton came within a whisker of becoming the World Rally Champion, Lilian Bryner has won the Spa 24 Hours, and Sabine Schmitz has twice triumphed at the Nrburgring 24. Growing up an all-around sportswoman, Lombardi had the opportunity to become anything she wanted, but she didnt fall in love with racing until she was in her twenties. With its premium plus plan, youll be able to browse flight deals going for up to 90% off in business, premium economy, and economy class. Lombardi finished seventh in Augusts German GP, despite a puncture. He was very ambitious and so we signed big names Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo to show that we meant business. She wasnt rich her father was a butcher and, with no sponsors to begin with, she slept in her truck to save money. Tatiana Calderon follows in their wheeltracks this season. Born in Frugarolo, Italy, on March 21 1941, she reached adolescence understanding that two aspects of her nature were at odds with public opinion of the day: she loved cars and she was gay. As one might expect, Lombardi turned her hand to endurance racing in both sports and touring cars racing at Le Mans on four occasions, including her final appearance when she partnered with Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister. Instead, it was her achievements that did the talking for her. We gave Ronnie a new chassis for Monaco after his misunderstanding with Carlos Reutemann in Belgium, says Herd. She was much more concerned by the settings than I was, great with the mechanics and very speedy. She would often speak of sacrifices. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. And much of the team that backed him in Formula 1 were wealthy gay men. Some of this was cultural, while the rest was sheer bravado in a sport that still regularly claimed the lives of those who competed. Poor Lella, shed had bad traction all along. We were quite close on lap times, and what was nice with her is that she would hand the car back to me exactly as it was when I had handed it to her. Pete Lyons summed up the mess that FormulaOne stumbled into at this race: "The first 1975 GP in Europe was an unmitigated debacle. Lella Lombardi died in March 1992 She was one of the few women that have raced the 24 hours of LeMans, witha best result of 4th. Behind the wheel, female drivers compete at the highest levels. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. At Catawiki, youll be surprised every week with the impressive selection of special objects we have on offer. She qualified 7 seconds off pole in P24 and got half a point because there were 18 DNFs, 5 people died and the race was abandoned. Now she impressed racings international set by finishing 12th in F3s most prestigious race. Having coped with her Chevrolets worsening transmission problem, Lombardi chose not to restart after a long stoppage for rain and was classified 31st. Stamina was no problem, either, because you couldnt drive flat out back then and expect to last the distance.. No entourage. Lella only complained about the inequality of Formula 1 because nobody had listened to her about changes for the car. The subsequent 75 V6 model was less successful and so Lombardi, though she had managed an eighth place in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours co-driven by Drovandi and Roberto Castagna, switched to a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth for 1987. She was sure of her illness by 1985. Wed recognize Lella now like a typical modern racer: focused on nothing but driving, not speaking about her private life. And in 1976 she shared a Lancia Stratos Turbo with Christine Dacremont at Le Mans and finished 20th one lap and one place ahead of the Cosworth DFV-powered Inaltera of Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Jean Rondeau and Belgiums Christine Beckers. After driving the delivery van for her familys butchers shop, she raced karts briefly, before saving everything she could to buy her first car, which she drove in Formula Monza in 1965. 0 The damaged monocoque was still in the workshop so we took it apart and discovered a crack in its cast-magnesium rear bulkhead. The joyless Spanish Grand Prix of April 1975 ended in tragedy when the rear wing of Rolf Stommelens leading Hill failed with catastrophic result: dead bodies pinned beneath its wreck. These were supposedly real mans cars with their big 5.0-litre V8 motors, but she handled them adroitly. Marie-Claude believes that she and Lella could have won Le Mans in 1975. Back then it was an endurance race rather than a sprint and we were quite competitive. In 1975, Lombardi joined the March team for a full seasonat that time alongside the macho Vittorio Brambilla (nicknamed the Monza Gorilla) and Hans-Joachim Stuck. Things like that just dont worry me. As a trans woman, Cowell won the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, one of the worlds oldest motorsports events. Retirements in Belgium and Sweden were followed by a 14th place in Holland, 18th in France and another retirement in Great Britain. Determined. Only when Ronnie Peterson described the same handling characteristic in 1976 did the penny begin to drop. By creating your free Catawiki account, youll be able to bid on any of our 65,000 special objects up for auction every week. She was charming but stubborn and independent, and a tremendously careful road driver. At the start of 1975,Lombardi was back on top. Fourth at Brands Hatch at the first time of asking, Lombardi matched that result at Monza, Oulton Park and Mallory Park during a consistent campaign: she finished all bar the last of 18 rounds to be fifth in the points. During the 1980s Lombardi raced touring cars but her form struggled due to ill health - initially chest pains, although the reality would turn out to be much worse. Nel 1988 Lella si ritirata e ha aperto la scuderia Lombardi Autosport, dove diventata team manager. However, Lombardi had an eventful driving career, aside from Formula One. Her claim to fame is shes the only woman driver to score points in Formula 1, but even that was cut in half. Petersons return from Lotus after the Brazilian GP also signalled the end of Lombardis time with March. Cowell had a family, she was a war veteran and an avid motoring enthusiast and racer. Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. 2023 by Bump & Beyond. It was something of a publicity stunt. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 - 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. [8] That winter, she met an Italian nobleman, Count Vittorio Zanon, who sponsored her entrance into F1. That includes both domestic and international flights. Lombardis first F1 attempt was at the British Grand Prix in 1974 driving a Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club. Or become a seller if you've got a car to sell. Many of the members of the March team expressed their regret at having been so resistant to her ideas, knowing that she could have become an open wheel success if only shed had a reliable car. 26 March 1941(1941-03-26)Frugarolo, Italy Lombardi had had experience of sports-prototypes in the 1975 World Championship for Makes, finishing sixth at Mugello and a class-winning fourth at Monza in Equipe Elf Switzerlands 2-litre Alpine A441, co-driven by Marie-Claude Beaumont. This was back in 1936 and by 1939 shed competed in the Antwerp Grand Prix. She was, however, ahead of fellow non-qualifiers Vern Schuppan, Howden Ganley, Mike Wilds and Leo Kinnunen. It turned out to be her only sliver of a point that season. Her F1 debut came in the tragic Spanish Grand Prix of 1975, where a car lost control and killed four spectators. Synopsis. 3 March 1992(1992-03-03) (aged50)Milan, Italy Record keeping was scarce in the 60s and 70s, and the quiet, nondescript Lombardi wasnt one to steal the public eye, especially due to her sexuality. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. She worked hard to get what she wanted. Even Jochen Mass, declared the precipitate winner after 29 laps, scrambled from his McLaren with a face like thunder and threatened violence to smug officials. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. I don't know how you can positively spin that as earning it on merit. She learned how to drive behind the wheel of the delivery van for her familys butcher shop. With the race being stopped before three-fourths of the scheduled race distance was reached, only half points were awarded. She was taking home swaths of victories in the lower tiers of racing, ready to make a name for herself. Born Maria Grazia 'Lella' Lombardi in Frugarolo, Italy, and so far the only woman to have registered a top six finish in a World Championshop Grand Prix, she took half a point for finishing in 6th place in the prematurely terminated 1975 Spanish GP at Barcelona's Montjuich Park. This approach works for an endless parade of nobody male drivers, and it got Lella close enough to just grasp at history, at least for a moment, before it all started to slip away from her. After a difficult and unrewarding ETCC campaign she failed to start the final round at Nogaro due to illness. She spoke okay English by then, plus Id worked with so many Italian drivers that I could almost speak the language.. The boys ganged up and got horribly rough on the track filthy tricks, kart-style but she could look after herself. In the 1975 event, she was once again able to qualify and compete with a March-Ford. The following year, Lombardi would compete again this time driving a March-Ford but was unfortunately forced to retire after twenty laps. But the Nrburgring was her best drive, says March co-founder/designer Robin Herd. She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. I feel its simply a competitive sport. This took place in 1951, but before then shed been a moderately successful motor racer and pilot in the RAF. Wed just started the ShellSPORT Celebrity Series [for Escort Mexicos] and my wife Angela invited her to compete at Brands Hatch in July. That same year she attempted to make her Grand Prix debut in the British GP at Brands Hatch, in a Brabham BT42 rented from Bernie Ecclestone for 5,000, entered by Hexagon of Highgate and sponsored by Allie Polymer Group. It won't be long until we find out For a better experience, keep your browser up to date. A successful placing in the 1965 Formula Monza, however, gave Lombardi away, when her parents read about her in the papers. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. 115 Lella Lombardi Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 115 lella lombardi stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Racing was her passion, and she was focused on it wholly. [4] Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. She was tough and had great duration.. Lombardis involvement was short lived as she died of breast cancer on the 3rd March 1992 at the untimely age of fifty. While she had some poor seasons behind the wheel of poor cars, she also could consistently log top ten finishes. As Angela Webb, one of the race promoters who knew Lella, says in a retrospective in Motorsport Magazine: She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. That she was a woman was an irrelevancy to Lella. She won the 6 Hours of Pergusa and the 6 Hours of Vallelunga. 1974 British Grand Prix She was a loner, really. Born near Turin, Italy, neither of Lombardis parents knew how to drive. Technically, because he was regarded by many as only semi-closeted as he often brought a girlfriend along to his races though friends and colleagues say most of them knew and werent bothered by it. The race was stopped shortly thereafter and half points awarded to those who happened to occupy the top six positions at the time.". Lombardi's place in motorsport history is firmly fixed. The following year ended in a retirement. The success of becoming the first women to score points in F1 was sadly rather overshadowed due to the death of five spectators during the race. Lombardi is the only woman to ever participate in the race of champions Thats something I dont have any problems sharing with my male colleagues. * Most laps led. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, and subsequently, the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson. She lived well and had little trouble getting sponsorship. 18 (12 starts) Lella Lombardi Driver Information Born 26 March 1941 Frugarolo, Italy Died 3 March 1992 (aged 50) Milan, Italy Nationality ITA Formula One World Championship Career Statistics Status Deceased World Titles 0 Races 18 (12 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Fastest Laps 0 Points 0.5 First Race 1974 British Grand Prix Last Race 1976 Austrian Grand Prix Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy. In fact we got zero PR from it. No trouble.. [12] According to The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, because of Lella Lombardi, there are more women involved in other aspects of Formula One, especially "traditionally female" jobs such as modeling. On retirement from racing in 1988, Lombardi formed her own team Lombardi Autosport. Maria Grazia Lombardi was born in Piedmont, Italy, on March 26th 1941. It was a deep irony that when Maria Grazia Lella Lombardi became the only woman to score a World Championship point in only her second GP, in Spain in a works March 751 in 1975 it was actually only half a point. The race only continued for four more laps before it was stopped. In situations where options are slim, you have to take every opportunity that comes your way. Though officials erected barricades and bosses manned the barriers because the drivers were rightly unamused by Montjuchs laughable Acme Inc Armco, the latter would eventually kowtow and race with a collective madness bar world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who stayed true to his word and refused to start. Two years later she further proved her ability as she won four of the 10 Formula 850 races in a Biraghi, and went on to take the championship in 1971. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team, as Lombardi scored a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix.
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